Air India's Strategic Move to Enhance Pilot Training Infrastructure

Air India has placed an order for 34 trainer aircraft to support its upcoming flying training organization (FTO) in Amravati, Maharashtra. The order includes 31 single-engine aircraft from Piper Aircraft in the United States and 3 twin-engine aircraft from Diamond Aircraft in Austria. The airline aims to have the FTO operational by mid-2025, targeting to be the largest flying school in South Asia to meet India's future pilot requirements.

Delivery of the trainer aircraft will commence next year, with a plan to graduate 180 commercial pilots annually from the flying school. The new FTO is a strategic move by Air India to expand its training infrastructure and contribute to building a self-reliant ecosystem of qualified pilots for both Air India and the Indian aviation industry. The Amravati FTO, spread over 10 acres, will feature digitally enabled classrooms, hostels, a digitized operations center, and its own maintenance facility, focusing on maintaining high safety standards.

Sunil Bhaskaran, AI Aviation Academy Director, stated, "With this order of 34 trainer aircraft to support South Asia's largest FTO, we are delighted to be playing a part in building the aviation infrastructure India needs as one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets and to support the government's vision for an atmanirbhar Bharat."